Recent Stories

2018 Election

Two days before anniversary of Aztec shooting, NRA warns NM members of “attacks” on gun rights

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In a grossly insensitive and inflammatory letter on Wednesday, the National Rifle Association warned its New Mexico members to “Expect Unprecedented Attacks On Your Second Amendment Rights During The 2019 Legislative Session.” 

This letter came two days before today’s one-year anniversary of the fatal, shooting at Aztec High School; an actual attack that left two young people dead. 

So, who’s really under “attack?” New Mexico gun owners? No, they’re not. Common sense gun regulations are supported by the majority of voters. We know that by the results of this year’s elections.

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*TAKE ACTION* We need to talk…

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Today ProgressNow New Mexico sent out an email to our members with some hard truths. The Economic Transition Act is an incredible tool for our state and for the communities most affected by the inevitable end of fossil fuel production in our state. We, along with dozens of other partners, are fully encouraging everyone to get behind this effort keep moving New Mexico’s energy future forward. You can CLICK HERE to send an email to your legislator in support of SB 489, the Economic Transition Act. Subject: We need to talk…TextWith a new Governor, enthusiastic new State House representatives, and progressive advocates with eight years of pent-up demand, what could possibly go wrong?Well, a lot, actually, and that’s why we need to talk.We’ll be blunt.

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Respect NM Women Coalition Lobbies the Roundhouse

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On February 14, 2019, Respect New Mexico Women, a coalition of organizations that work to protect abortion access from across the state, lobbied legislators in the House and Senate at the Roundhouse. We must say, it was beautiful to see true representation of our state show up to tell our elected leaders that we support access to abortion and that healthcare is not a crime! Folks from every corner of the state including Indigenous folks from various tribes and Asian families were in full force to let our elected officials know that we appreciate votes FOR HB 51- a bill to keep abortion safe and legal. It’s literally a page long so read it here. Check out these highlights of the Respect New Mexico Women Lobby Day!

2019 Legislature

5 Reasons New Mexico Must Pass SB 8- Background Checks for Firearms

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On January 30, Senate Bill 8 (Firearm Sale Background Check), sponsored by Senators Wirth and Martinez, passed Senate Judiciary! Some time very soon, SB 8 will be heard on the Senate Floor and we want to dispel some gross mistruths about gun safety measures that are moving through committee in the New Mexico State Legislature. Here are 5 reasons that we need background checks for firearms:

When Connecticut implemented this law, their gun homicide rate went down by 40%Women shot to death by intimate partners went down by 47%In many states, 1 out of 10 people seeking guns have backgrounds that wouldn’t allow them to have guns in the first placeBackground checks have blocked more than 3 million salesQuinnipiac University polling found that 97% of Americans across the aisle support background checks

This is not some radical bill. This is common sense and it saves lives. The proposed legislation will require online sellers to do what retailers have had to do for decades: a background check.

ProgressNow NM Denounces Anti-Abortion Extremists

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Since voting to protect safe and legal healthcare, many legislators in New Mexico have been receiving messages with personal and often times violent content. Representative Angelica Rubio (D-35) shared on Facebook the vitriol that she and even her parents have received about her vote in favor of House Bill 51- the Keep Abortion Safe And Legal bill. ProgressNow New Mexico wants New Mexico communities to know the extent of this behavior. Anti-abortion extremists have been targeting Rep Rubio’s parents, who are elders, as well as the family members of other representatives who supported the bill. Rep Rubio felt moved to address the attack on her family on her Facebook page, saying,

“So, before you decide to challenge my parents’ morality, and degrade them for an informed decision their 40 year old daughter took in the New Mexico State Legislature–which, by the way, is supported by a majority of my colleagues and New Mexicans–I suggest you call me first rather than be self-righteous and spew posts on social media.

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It’s a NEW DAY in New Mexico!

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With a new Governor and a host of bold, progressive, new State House representatives, one of the biggest wins this session could be in clean energy. We have a generational opportunity to reduce carbon in New Mexico, through the double-sided coin of increasing our state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio (RPS), the leading climate priority for Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham; and retiring the San Juan Generating Station in San Juan County, a source of coal-based carbon emissions for decades. We now have that chance. The Energy Transition Act (ETA, SB 489) was filed today, sponsored by Senator Jacob Candelaria and Representative Nathan Small. Here are the top 5 things the ETA does:

It creates an even stronger new Renewable Portfolio Standard than last week’s bill, because of some pretty tough negotiating by the Governor over the weekend, setting New Mexico on a course for clean energy for literally decades to come.

Abortion

Keep Abortion Safe & Legal

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On February 1, 2019. State Representative Joanne Ferrary’s Keep Abortion Safe and Legal Bill (HB #51) was heard in the House Judiciary Committee. This bill is a statewide effort to protect women’s access to reproductive healthcare by ensuring that patients and medical providers will not be criminalized when healthcare is provided. Before Roe v. Wade was decided, the State of New Mexico passed a bill in 1968 that would have outlawed abortion in nearly any circumstance. While access to abortion is necessary, we cannot ignore that in our own state, the racism that surrounded (and continues to surround) Indigenous, immigrant, Black, and differently-abled folks, had their reproductive rights stripped from them.

"Oil and Gas"

New Mexico moves forward on capturing methane, NMOGA sulks

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This week Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham took New Mexico in a bold new direction with her Executive Order aimed at, broadly, the very real threat of climate change and, narrowly, curbing methane emissions in New Mexico. ProgressNow New Mexico has been one of many organizations talking about the need for such measures for a years and was happy to join dozens of such groups in publicly thanking the Governor for her bold leadership and living up to her campaign promises so quickly into her first term in office. If you’ve been paying attention you know that methane is a huge issue in New Mexico. Currently the oil and gas industry in our state leaks more methane than anywhere else in the country. They leak so much they could heat every single home in the state every year.

"State legislature (United States)"

We MUST Keep Abortion Safe & Legal in 2019

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The legislative session is upon us and State Representative Joanne Ferrary’s Keep Abortion Safe and Legal Bill will be one of the most watched bills in New Mexico and nationwide. The fight continues to protect women’s access to reproductive healthcare and passing this bill would be a significant step forward in this effort.  We recognize that change takes a movement, a movement built from the ground up by people like YOU! ProgressNow New Mexico is bringing you a multimedia series of covering the hard work done by partners across the state helping in this fight. Why are we doing this?

Featured

Two days before anniversary of Aztec shooting, NRA warns NM members of “attacks” on gun rights

By |

In a grossly insensitive and inflammatory letter on Wednesday, the National Rifle Association warned its New Mexico members to “Expect Unprecedented Attacks On Your Second Amendment Rights During The 2019 Legislative Session.” 

This letter came two days before today’s one-year anniversary of the fatal, shooting at Aztec High School; an actual attack that left two young people dead. 

So, who’s really under “attack?” New Mexico gun owners?